Archives for May 2012

It’s been a wonderful 9 years full of highs and lows, happy and sad times together and I wouldn’t change a minute of it because God has had an incredible plan for us all along! Marriage is one of the greatest, hardest, most fulfilling things I have ever done… Its amazing what happens when you have two broken people and a perfect God as the center of your life. He continues to do a mighty work in us and I couldn’t be happier or feel more blessed. His timing is perfect. His will is perfect. And He has a plan that outscores mine by a bazillion!

I couldn’t have asked for a better partner to walk through this life with. The Lord definately knew what He was doing when He gave me my incredible husband!

I love you, babe! I’m so excited to see what the next 9 years are gonna look like! Happy Anniversary, Peach! 😉

Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.-Mark 10:9

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.-Ephesians 5:31

We had a very relaxing yet fun and productive long holiday weekend. The boys didn’t have school on Friday or Monday and I’ve had some complications from my surgery
so I’ve been off of my feet a lot but we had a blast this weekend.

Chloe snuggling daddy

Friday I had the boys help me pick out some summer camps and we got them all signed up… The boys played outside with daddy a ton and I got to sit on the sidelines with my feet up and watch! Lol 🙂
Saturday was another fun day and the boys played outside a ton (again) and then in the afternoon
we took them to a friends baseball game which was awesome. He is on a Babe Ruth team and they absolutely creamed the other team… Boys loved it! 🙂
I also finally got caught up on laundry over the weekend since it had started to pile up a bit since my surgery. Haha

my boys... xoxo

Sunday the message at church was amazing and I suggest you listen to or watch the sermon here. It was all on Philippians and the key verse of the week…To live is Christ and to die is gain. -Philippians 1:21
We went out for Mexican food after church and spent the rest of the day just as a family outside with the kids and BBQ’ing.
Monday we relaxed, played outside some more since the weather was insanely nice and then took the boys to Omsi to the OMNIMAX Theater to see Born To Be Wild.
It was so good and the boys loved it.

OMNIMAX show

Afterwards we went to Nostrana and shared a couple of yummy pizzas… Love that place and we def recommend going!!
Yesterday the boys were back in school and I layed in bed ALL DAY since I’ve been dizzy and light headed from the blood loss…
My mama came over to keep me company and brought me a coffee and a scone… I felt spoiled and it was so good to just sit with her and talk. 🙂

mama in bed. haha

Cocoa snuggling up to Coop

I did go to the boys baseball game last night though which I always love.
Hope everyone had a fun relaxing weekend and I’ll have a giveaway this Friday!

This weekend the kids and I are going to make this adorable bird in a nest craft…
I got it from Clubhouse Jr which is an amazing christian magazine for children that is packed full of God’s love, bible stories, recipes, coloring pages, games and crafts…
Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend with your families and get excited for the coming weeks…
I have 3 fun giveaways coming and a guest blogger! You won’t want to miss it!

1. Crumble shredded wheat into a medium-sized bowl.
2. Stir in coconut and sugar.
3. Ask Mom or Dad to drizzle mixture with melted butter. Then mix with fork.
4. Line six muffin cups with foil.
5. Divide mixture between cups. With the back of a teaspoon, press mixture into the bottoms and sides of lined cups to form nests.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned and crisp.
7. After pan has cooled, remove nests from cups by lifting out foil and carefully peeling foil off nests.

1. Wash and dry strawberries with stems. The green leaves will become the tail feathers.
2. For the bird’s head, push a toothpick through a red grape, so 1/4 inch sticks out for the bird’s beak.
3. Attach the grape “head” near the tip of the strawberry by poking the longer end of the toothpick into the berry.
4. Ask Mom or Dad to make a slit on each side of the strawberry to form bird wings. Cut the slits at an angle, cutting toward the bird’s head. Slightly separate the wings from the body.
5. Line bird’s nest with 1 teaspoon vanilla yogurt.
6. Place bird in nest. Add a few small green grapes or blueberries for eggs.
7. Enjoy your treat before the birdie flies away!

I saw this video a few weeks back and have not been able to stop thinking about it! What an amazing testimony to us all of how God is sufficient for us and He is all we need. It definitely puts things into perspective for me and shows the immense character of this beautiful woman… What a blessing Larissa is and what a story!
She reminds be of the kind of person I aspire to be.
You will definitely have to grab a box of tissues before you watch because this is real and true and shows God heart! 🙂

31 Ways To Inspire Your Children

While your children are growing, pray often for their salvation, as the prophet Isaiah wrote, “Drop down, ye heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteousness: let the earth open, and let them bring forth salvation, and let righteousness spring up together; I the LORD have created it.” ~ Isaiah 45:8

Give children age appropriate responsibilities teaching them to care for the things God gives us.

Each child is individual; pray that God will help you in developing that individual character.

Listen to how your children speak, and encourage them to choose words wisely at school and at home. It’s important to teach them to bridle their tongue.

Set standards for your children as you teach them the importance of modest dress. They should represent themselves as holy and acceptable unto God.

Never forget to tell your children you’re proud of them. Don’t assume that they already know how you feel.

Teach your child to tithe by suggesting that they take one tenth of their allowance to put aside for church offering. Also teach them that we can give in additional ways such as donating old toys and clothes to the poor.

Pray often that your children will long to please God, and that they will desire to walk in His ways as the Psalmist wrote, “More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.” ~ Psalm 19:10

Pray over your children while they are sleeping. With a heart like Hannah, give them over to God.

Start notebooks for each of your children, and together journal the changing world around us. Take note of the tiniest detail in God’s creation. Babies. Snowflakes. Lady Bugs…

Keep a running list of prayer requests and pray together as a family often.

Bible reading is a wonderful way to spend time together as a family. Make it a routine in your home.

Visit relatives often to show children the value of relationships.

Choose a character from the Bible and after reading the story together discuss how that message relates to your child today.

Give time to your children each day. The time you give makes the words you speak of more value to them.

Bring your children to church and help them seek out ways to get involved.

Be an example to your children of one who loves her neighbor as herself through random acts of kindness. Lend a helping hand to a busy neighbor, or take time out of a busy day to simply say hello.

Try counting the stars on a clear night to show your child how vast God’s creation is.

Laughter is medicine for the soul ~ laugh often with your children.

Smile often, and let kindness be a cloak you wear as an example to your children.

Don’t just tell your children that you love them ~ tell them what you love about them.

Pray for purity in the hearts of your children, and the renewing of their spirit as the Psalmist wrote, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” ~ Psalm 51:10

Take opportunities to give thanks by taking turns around the dinner table to express what you are thankful for.

Encourage praise reports and prayer requests on a regular basis.

Be an example to your children in the way that you love and honor your husband.

Enlighten your children to the world around them by supporting missions and teaching them that there is a world both hungry for food and hungry for God. Pray that they will have a heart for missions.

Take opportunities to hug your children often, to hold their hands, or to rest an assuring hand on their shoulder.

Show your children that you appreciate them by doing something special just for them, like making their favorite meal, or taking them out for an ice cream.

As you watch your child grow, pray for meekness in that young spirit–a spirit that will grow in the likeness of Christ. As Paul wrote to the Ephesians in chapter 4:2, “With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love.”

Make it a habit to learn scripture together. Children learn best from example. I absolutely loved this when I came across it and wanted to share with you all… The way we teach and train our children up is so incredibly important and I want to be the mom who is encouraging my babies and building them up always! Sometimes it’s the little things that mean the very most to them! So, happy ‘Thankful Thursday’, I am so thankful today for my amazing kids! 🙂

Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.
-Proverbs 22:6

Totally random post today but I received this email from my mom and loved it so I had to share.
I’m chaperoning a field trip with my youngest son’s class today to the theater and I’m really looking forward to a fun day 🙂

COFFEE FILTERS

Who knew! And you can buy 1,000 at the Dollar Tree for $1.00, even the large ones.

1. Cover bowls or dishes when cooking in the microwave. Coffee filters make excellent covers.

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in ½ of the whipped topping.

2. Place frozen strawberries in a saucepan. Gradually moisten 2 T. cornstarch with water until it forms a paste. Add enough water to thin this paste to the consistency of buttermilk, stir into berries. Cook and stir until thick. Cool and mix in glaze.

1. In a large bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Beat in condensed milk, pudding mix, cold milk and vanilla until smooth. Fold in ½ of the whipped topping.

2. Place strawberries in a saucepan. Gradually moisten 2 T. cornstarch with water until it forms a paste. Add enough water to thin this paste to the consistency of buttermilk, stir into berries. Cook and stir until thick. Cool and mix in glaze.

1. In a saucepan place strawberries and honey. Cook over medium heat until thoroughly mixed and heated through. Remove from heat.

2. In a small bowl combine cornstarch and water stirring to combine. Add cornstarch mixture to strawberry mixture. Return to stove top and cook over medium heat for approximately 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until thickened.

These pictures and this recipe are all taken from Joy’s blog and you can find her original post here! I prefer Joy’s recipe over the original… Hope you all enjoy the deliciousness!

So as you know Friday I had surgery and was completely out all day… They released me from the hospital in the afternoon and when hubby brought me home I slept all day, waking only a couple times to kiss my kids and eat a few crackers to help the nausea. Saturday morning my precious Camden pitched his first baseball game and did amazing… So proud of my little guy! 🙂

That afternoon my little bug said he was going for a ‘walk’ just right around outside and came home with these ‘flowers’ to ‘help mommy feel better!’ Oh my goodness they may not be much to you but I was a happy mommy who feels beyond blessed by such a sweet little man! 🙂

I also was blessed by some of my girlfriends who brought me these flowers from the farmers market as a ‘get well’ and they really made my day!

My friend joy also made me homemade chocolate croissants and homemade cookies the day before my surgery so I’d have some more treats to cheer me up… I seriously am so spoiled by this girl!! 🙂
I should have taken a pic of the actual croissants but I thought the bag was so sweet I took a pic of that and now all of the treats are gone! Lol

This was from my perpetual calendar from the other day and I loved it do much and felt so convicted that I wanted to share… Love is honorable

Boys wanted to go to Fuddruckers for dinner Saturday night so I mustered up the energy to go… Coop was being too silly to take a picture but Camden and daddy were cute… 🙂
And we walked along the lake afterwards for a bit because it was such a beautiful night…

Sunday morning before church I made this yummy coffee treat and then my parents watched the boys so hubby and I could hang out for a couple of hours…

Then it was back to bed and Hubbers made us a delicious dinner… After the boys went to sleep we watched a movie in bed and hubs brought me ice cream (also in bed). Totally spoiled after surgery but I know I shouldn’t get to used to this queen treatment! Lol I definitely feel like a lucky girl all the way around though!!!

Disappointed that the weather went from 80 degrees and sunny for a week to overcast and rainy… That was a total teaser and I’m looking forward to more sunshine and BBQ’s in the near future!!
Hope you all have a blessed week!!

Let everything you do be done in love.
-1 Corinthians 16:14

As I’ve been laying around in bed this weekend recovering from surgery I’ve been browsing the Forever 21 website
and have found some super adorable dresses, accessories, shoes and jewelry… All for less than $25 a piece and I am loving all of the beautiful pastel, neutral and vibrant colors out right now.
Here are the things that are on my wish list which I’m thinking I may have to order tonight since I have a gift card for there from a friend! 🙂
Hope you all have had an amazing weekend and here’s to a fabulous week ahead!

Good morning, dolls…
Just heading out the door to surgery and hoping I’ll be able to blog this weekend while I’m bed-bound,
But in the mean time I have a few of the onsies that I made still up for grabs… Most went quickly but you can snag the last 4…
one left in a size 3-6 months and the other three are size 6-9 months

They were originally $8 each or 2 for $15
But they are on sale for $5 each plus shipping
and if you want all 4 I’ll give them to you all for $20 including shipping.

Email, or call me if you need one! 🙂

3-6 months

6-9 months

Happy Friday and I hope everyone has a very blessed weekend!

Oh and one more thing for Fashion Friday…
Head over to the Blonde Episodes blog to find Kori’s picks on some adorable rompers! 🙂

Not sure why I’m feeling compelled to write this morning, but I do. I had a frustrating situation this morning that left me super annoyed and on top of that I thought it was Wednesday so I frantically ripped all of the sheets off the beds and threw them in the wash to get […]

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Omigosh I LOVE this song and have had it on constantly lately! So grateful I serve a good Father who is ALWAYS there in those moments that I so desperately need Him whether I am seeking Him or not… It brings such a peace over my soul knowing that I am so dearly and deeply […]